Vehicular homicide charges filed against driver in fatal 520 wreck

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SEATTLE - A man who prosecutors say was drunk when he drove the wrong way on SR-520 and killed a woman in a head-on crash has been charged with vehicular homicide.

Michael A. Robertson was ordered to be held in the King County Jail on $1 million bail once he is released from Harborview Medical Center, where he is receiving treatment for a leg injury he sustained in the crash.

The victim, identified as Morgan F. Williams, 58, of Seattle, was a 32-year employee of Eddie Bauer, and her ex-husband says she was on her way to work when the crash happened.

Washington State Patrol officials said Robertson was driving his SUV west in the eastbound lanes of the freeway and slammed head-on at a closing speed of 100 mph into Williams' Mazda near the Montlake exit at about 5:25 a.m. Thursday.

Firefighters had to cut the roof off of the Mazda to rescue Williams, who was trapped in the mangled wreck. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition, and later died of her injuries. The crash shut down the eastbound lanes of 520 for several hours.

Investigators say Robertson was driving home after drinking with his friends in Seattle. He originally entered the freeway heading east toward Bellevue but apparently made a U-turn on the freeway and accelerated back toward Seattle, prosecutors said. Investigators say they found an empty bottle of whiskey in Robertson's front seat.

Court records show that Robertson was previously charged with DUI stemming from earlier incident in December and was scheduled to stand trial later this month.

If convicted, Robertson faces roughly 6-8 years in prison. He is scheduled to be arraigned on April 18.